Thursday, November 03, 2005
American Home Files Civil Lawsuit Alleging Inflated Appraisal
American Home Mortgage Corp dba American Brokers Conduit brought a civil action in the Supreme Court for New York County against Allegiance Mortgage Corporation, Act Appraisal, Inc. and Karen Kertz (Please see update regarding professional identity theft suffered by Karen Kertz and dismissal of Act Appraisal, Inc. and Karen Kertz as defendants.) “to recover damages that American Home . . . suffered as a result of the purchase of a mortgage loan imbued with fraud, including a fraudulent appraisal.”
According to the complaint, on November 20, 2003, American Home funded a mortgage loan submitted by Allegiance and secured by property at 742 North Lockwood Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. The loan was funded in reliance on an appraisal performed by Kertz on behalf of Act Appraisal that appraised the property as having a market value of $289,500. American Home sold the loan to Countrywide. The loan went into default and was foreclosed.
According to the complaint, following default, Countrywide discovered ‘serious deficiencies’ concerning the appraised value of the property, occupancy status and undisclosed liabilities and demanded that American Home repurchase the loan. American Home’s review found the true market value of the property at the time the loan closed to be approximately $65,000, according to the complaint and found that the property appraised by Act Appraisal and Kertz and represented in the appraisal was not the property securing the loan American Home funded.
The complaint includes causes of action for breach of contract (as to Allegiance), fraudulent appraisal (Act Appraisal and Kertz) and negligent misrepresentation (Act Appraisal and Kertz). The action was removed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on September 9, 2005.
mortgage fraud
Hello,
I have a similiar problem here in Alabama but it is me against a builder and I can not get any help. It is very obvious to me what they did, but no one wants to help. I ended up in Bankruptcy and lost everything thanks to them. Maybe you can give me some suggestions.
Sincerely;
Virgil Walden
Posted by on 11/07 at 04:30 AM
This is the same exact thing that happened to me. It is obvious what they did, but I can’t seem to get any help. They hurt me bad. I couldn’t sell due to the over inflated appraisal and it also went into foreclosure. I also had a heart Attack over it all
Posted by on 11/16 at 07:59 AM
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Trial coverage provided by Anne Mitchell, Crazy Fish Realty.
F. Jeffrey Miller Update - October 20, 2009
A hearing was held in Topeka, Kansas in front of Judge Julie Robinson. Miller is currently being held pending his sentencing which is set for December 22nd, 2009 at 9:00 a.m.. Steve Vanatta and Hallie Irvin, Miller's codefendants, will be sentenced at that time also.
Several motions were heard this week. One was a motion for Miller to be released pending his sentencing. Miller's attorney, Jeff Morris, argued that the court had dismmissed with predjudice the matter involving Miller's purchase of a commercial lawnmower, violating the court ordered monitoring agreement. He also argued that Miller was not a flight risk and should be released. This motion was denied.
Another motion heard by Judge Robinson was that of an escrow account containing proceeds from the sale of Miller's forfeited assets. This account has a balance of $143,000. Attorney Morris argued that his firm was due $100,000 for work done in the Miller matter, to date. The government argued that his 'un-itemized fees' were 'exhorbitant'. The balance of the funds, Morris argued, should be released to the Miller family to help pay for mounting household expenses.
The government argued that the 'Asset Forfeiture Provision' applies down to 'the last penny' and that 'the rights of the victims to made whole are of paramount immportance' and that no routine household expenses like Visa bills, are allowed.
Attorney Morris argues that there is more than enough assets to satisfy the jury's judgement of $2.65 million dollars. The government argues that the estimated value of his assets are only $1.4 million.
The government also stated that Miller has been paid dividends from a company Miller has an ownership interest in; Boreflex. From July, 2008 to present, Miller has been paid $330,509.30 from Boreflex, unbeknownst to the court appointed monitor.
Present in the courtroom was Todd Earnshaw. Earnshaw was indicted along with Miller and others in what is commonly referred to as 'Miller I'. That trial is scheduled to begin on January 11, 2010 in Topeka, Kansas.
More Trial Coverage
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Rachel Dollar, the editor of Mortgage Fraud Blog, is an attorney and Certified Mortgage Banker who handles litigation for lending institutions and secondary market investors. She is an author and a nationally recognized speaker on the topic of mortgage fraud. Ms. Dollar is a shareholder with the law firm of 
